1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a turbine engine and, more particularly, to a turbine engine combustor and stator vane assembly.
2. Background Information
A turbine engine can include a compressor section, a combustor and a turbine section, which are sequentially arranged along an axial centerline between a turbine engine inlet and a turbine engine exhaust. The combustor typically includes a forward bulkhead, a radial outer combustor wall and a radial inner combustor wall. The outer and inner combustor walls extend axially from the forward bulkhead to respective distal combustor wall ends, which are connected to the turbine section. Each combustor wall includes a support shell with a plurality of impingement apertures, and a heat shield with a plurality of effusion apertures. The turbine section typically includes a stator vane arrangement located between the combustor wall ends and a forward rotor stage of the turbine section.
During operation, a leading edge of each stator vane in the stator vane arrangement can create a bow wave that causes relatively hot core gas to impinge against the combustor wall ends. The hot core gas can distress exposed ends of the heat shields, exposed ends of the support shells, and/or an exposed portion of a conformal seal that seals a gap between the outer combustor wall and the turbine section. Such distress can significantly reduce the life of the combustor walls.